Meet The Offspring Snippet: Meet The Target
by FarSideOfTheSun
Summary: Nine certain mercenaries have returned to the Badlands after a fifteen-year absence during which they've started families. Not long after their return, a stray dog finds his way to their base and befriends their children. Rated K plus because it's pretty tame for TF2.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:**_ _A bit of an explanation: Meet The Offspring, here on after referred to as MTO, is a TF2 next generation idea of mine that takes place 15 years after TF2 originally takes place, so the year is somewhere between 1983 and 1987 (the year I'm shooting for is 1984). The RED team mercenaries have been called back to the Badlands to hunt for and fight off some unidentified vandals who have been vandalizing Mann Co. property in the area; their kids are along for the ride to temporarily escape problems they've been having at home._

 _Here are the names I'll be using for the mercenaries and Ms. Pauling in MTO:_  
 _Scout - Jeremy*_  
 _Soldier - James/Jim_  
 _Pyro is just Pyro._  
 _Demoman - Tavish*_  
 _Heavy - Mikhail/Misha*_  
 _Engineer - Dell*_  
 _Medic - Dietrich_  
 _Sniper - Lucas/Luke_  
 _Spy - Maurice_  
 _Ms. Pauling (also referred to as Mrs. Stevens, married to Scout) - Susan_

* _means I'm pretty sure the name is canon._

 _The children's names:_  
 _Ryan (son of Scout and Ms. Pauling)_  
 _Emma (daughter of Scout and Ms. Pauling)_  
 _Nelson (son of Soldier and Zhanna)_  
 _Kevin (nephew of Pyro)_  
 _Audrey (daughter of Demoman)_  
 _Nikolai (son of Heavy)_  
 _Henry (son of Engineer)_  
 _Violet (daughter of Medic)_  
 _Mia (daughter of Sniper)_  
 _Damien (son of Spy)_

 _In addition, I'd like to take the time to apologize for getting any foreign words, phrases, or accents wrong._

* * *

A lone stray dog made his way across the sun-baked New Mexico desert, panting softly. It had been awhile since he'd last eaten; his last meal had been a partially-eaten hamburger, along with a few stale chicken nuggets, dug out of a trash can behind a fast-food restaurant in that small town down the road. A few of the people there had been nice enough to offer him a drink of water, but most of them shooed him away, thinking he might be carrying some terrible disease that could infect the whole town.

People sure were strange.

The dog stopped for a moment to sit down and scratch at a flea bite. The sun was slowly dipping toward the west, signaling the approach of dusk and the gradual decrease in heat that came with it. He would have to find someplace to stay for the night, but shelter was scarce in these parts. Except for a few abandoned man-made structures scattered here and there, there wasn't much to be had, and most of what was available probably had snakes, scorpions, and other nasty creatures hiding in them, waiting to bite or sting any animal or person that disturbed them.

The dog got up to stretch and yawn before continuing on his way when a long, barbed fence several feet ahead caught his eye. Curious, he trotted in the direction of the fence to see if there was anything beyond it. On the other side of the fence there were several vehicles, mostly trucks, parked around a large, Spartan-looking building. If there was one thing the dog had learned in his short life, it was that where there were that many cars parked in one place, humans couldn't be far. And where there were humans, there was bound to be food and water.

After a bit of pacing and searching, the dog found a hole dug under the fence by another animal and squeezed through it. Once he was on the other side of the fence, he eagerly made his way toward the building. As he approached his nose caught whiffs of several interesting smells, some of them being from food. He could also hear a number of human voices, mostly adult male voices but there was also an adult female voice as well as a few children's voices.

That was good; he liked children.

* * *

"Mom, he's bugging me!"

"Am not."

"Are too! He keeps touching me and putting his finger in my space."

"I'm not touching you; it's free air, dummy."

"MOM! DAD! Did you hear what he just called me?"

Susan Pauling Stevens sighed in exasperation as she placed her hand against the side of her head. Her two children, Ryan and Emma, had been at each other's throats all through the flight from Boston to Albuquerque, and then through the ride from the airport to the old RED base. Their relentless bickering was wearing her down. Sometimes Ryan was the instigator, sometimes it was Emma; but regardless of who started the fight, once those two started it could go on for hours. And putting them together in the back seat of a car for an hour did not help matters at all.

"Rough day, huh?"

Susan looked up in surprise when she felt her husband's arm around her shoulders. Jeremy, or Scout as he was now used to being called, had been greeting his former teammates as they arrived and chatting with them as he helped them unload boxes of supplies and equipment from their vehicles when he noticed his wife looking tired and annoyed.

"Scout, could you do something about those two? Please? They've been driving me crazy all day."

Jeremy turned his attention to his bickering children; by now, Emma was screaming and howling with rage, and Ryan was laughing at his sister's attempts to hit him. Standing in various places around the base's dusty front yard were the children of the other eight mercenaries. Some of them were leaning against or sitting upon crates of equipment and supplies, looking bored and tired; a few were watching the squabble between Ryan and Emma and trying to muffle their giggles.

"I'll see what I can do, sweets," said Jeremy, flashing a small smile. After Susan smiled back, he left her side and walked over to his son and daughter.

"Hey kids, what's goin' on?" he asked. "Your mom's tired from the trip out here, and your arguing ain't helpin' her at all."

Both children stopped their fight and turned to face their father.

"Ryan's poking his finger into my space," said Emma. "I drew a circle in the dirt around me and told him it was my space, but he keeps putting his finger in it."

"Am not," replied her brother. "I'm just pointing at you; what's so bad about that? Gosh ..."

Jeremy sighed loudly, slapping the palm of his hand against his forehead; sure, he loved his kids and all, but sometimes they could really get under his skin. Ryan, for instance, would often talk back to older kids at school, and sometimes his teachers as well. Emma would often copy her big brother's behavior, and when she lost her temper she would scream at other children and try to hit or kick them if they were bigger than she was. Then later that day there would be phone calls from angry parents or the school principal.

Remembering that he was supposed to be the responsible parent (and that his wife was watching him), Jeremy took a deep breath to regain his composure.

"Now look ..." he began, but was interrupted when a small white dove flew across the yard and fluttered down onto his head, cooing softly. Ryan and Emma immediately forgot their argument and began to giggle.

"Cicero! Get down from zhere, you naughty bird!"

A dark-haired girl about Ryan's age appeared at Jeremy's side. She was sporting a white blouse, a long blue skirt, soft grey boots, a pair of glasses, and a small blue ribbon tied in a bow on the left side of her head. She had two more birds with her, a white dove perched on her shoulder and a grey collared dove strutting around on the ground at her feet.

"I am very sorry, sir," the girl said as she tried to reach for her bird. "Cicero has no manners at all; he just flies und roosts vherever he pleases."

"Hey, it's alright, kid," Jeremy replied. "At least he got my kids to stop fighting." He raised both his hands above his head to grab Cicero, but the dove immediately got the message and fluttered down on to his young owner's waiting arm. He took another look at the girl and snapped his fingers. "Wait a sec; you're the Medic's girl, ain't ya?"

The girl nodded. "I'm Violet."

Jeremy held out his hand for a handshake. "Please to meet ya. Jeremy Stevens, but folks call me Scout. These two over here are my son Ryan and daughter Emma."

"Hey, what's up?" said Ryan, lifting his hand in a friendly wave. Normally, he'd just grunt when introduced to a girl; but since both his parents were near enough to watch him, he decided to be a bit more polite.

Emma, meanwhile, crouched down to get a better look at Violet's doves, all three of whom were now strutting across the ground at their owner's feet, making soft laughing sounds. She was about to reach out and pet one when her mother approached.

"Emma, please get off the ground."

Upon hearing Susan's voice, the girl pulled herself to her feet and turned her attention to Violet.

"I like your birds; they're very pretty."

The older girl smiled in reply. " _Danke_." Giggling softly at the sight of Emma's puzzled expression, she added, "In Germany, zhat means 'thank you'."

"Oh, right," said Emma. "Mom and Dad said some of these people are from other countries; right, Mom?"

"That's right," her mother replied.

"I remember you said there were also people from Scotland, Russia, Australia, and France," Ryan added.

"True," said his father.

"Wow, we have people here from five different countries besides ours," said Emma excitedly. Turning to look at the kids standing on the other side of the yard, she added, "I hope they're nice."

Jeremy smiled. "I'm sure they will be, toots," he told his daughter. "Your ma and I've known their dads for years, and as I recall, they turned out to be alright once I got to know them."

* * *

Across the yard from Scout and his family, a tall, long-legged girl leaned against the side of a small camper van, keeping her gaze on her dusty hiking boot-clad feet. She tucked a wisp of her copper-colored hair behind her right ear and raised her hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn. Every once in a while she'd lift her head to get a look at the group of adults and children across the yard, but then she would quickly look away before anyone noticed her.

Mia Grace Mundy didn't mind being alone; in fact, she rather enjoyed it. It gave her mind more space to run free and do its own thing, like an animal that had just been released from its cage. She could shut out the rest of the world and mentally dance away into the silence, free from all her earthly cares, even if only for a moment. There would be no honking car horns, no obnoxiously loud music, no screaming children, no scolding parents, no irritating sounds at all; just an eleven-year-old girl and her wandering imagination.

As she lifted her head to get another look at the rocky structures beyond the surrounding fence, something caught Mia's eye. A medium-sized animal of some kind, probably a dog, had just squeezed through a hole under the fence and was trotting toward her. As it came closer Mia could see it was in fact a dog. He was mostly white, with copper-colored spots all over his body, and had a short fluffy tail, a brownish nose, and heterochromatic eyes, one brown and one blue. He didn't have a collar, but he didn't look very malnourished either, so there was still the possibility that he belonged to someone.

"Where'd you come from, ol' bloke?" the girl asked as she knelt to the ground, bringing herself to the dog's level. "D'ya live around here, or are you just traveling through the area?" The pathetic-looking animal slowly approached her. As she held out her hand for him to sniff, he tilted his head curiously to one side and wagged his tail.

"I guess you're wondering if I have some food with me, ain't ya?" Mia said. "Well, it just so happens I still have half a sandwich in my pack. Let me get it for ya."

As she carefully removed her backpack from her back and set it on the ground, a soft chirping sound came from a small pocket on the right side of the backpack. A small furry animal somewhat resembling a miniature squirrel poked its head out of the pocket and began sniffing the air.

"Looks like I woke Bindi," Mia murmured to herself as she opened her backpack's main storage space and retrieved the promised sandwich. As she held it out to the hungry dog, a man's voice called her name.

"Mia! C'mere an' give us a hand with these bags!"

The girl heaved a sigh of dismay; she recognized that voice, and she knew better than to ignore it. Sensing her imminent departure, the dog rushed forward and snatched the sandwich from her hand.

"Careful there, mate; ya almost bit my fingers off," Mia gently scolded the dog, who was now greedily gobbling up the sandwich. Grabbing her backpack and carefully easing it over her shoulders so as not to disturb Bindi, she added, "I'd better go and see what my dad wants. See you later."

* * *

The dog watched as the girl hurried away to catch up with the group of people who were now retreating into the building. By this time the chill of the evening was setting in, and stars were beginning to appear in the darkening sky. The soft sounds of breezes blowing and crickets chirping filled the air, and somewhere in the distance a coyote called to its brethren. Taking the coyote's howl as a sign that he'd better turn in for the night, the dog stretched his legs and yawned before crawling under the van the girl who gave him the sandwich had been leaning against earlier.

Whimpering softly, he curled himself up into a ball to keep out as much of the cold as possible. He yawned as he remembered the events of his long, tiring day. Just that morning he escaped from a dog pound several miles away and had spent the rest of the day travelling along the dusty desert road, looking for food and water and trying to avoid getting hit by cars. Every once in a while a larger dog would cross his path looking for a fight, but he always managed to escape unharmed due to his smaller size. In the parking lot of a supermarket two small children ran up to him hoping to pet him, but their mother quickly snatched them away fearing he might bite them.

Why mothers thought dogs would bite their children, the dog had no idea. He never did like the idea of hurting people or other animals.

Maybe tomorrow he could get close to that girl again, and maybe some of those other children, too; perhaps they would even persuade their parents to let him stay.

He could only hope.

After yawning one last time, the dog closed his eyes and began drifting off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**RED base, 6:30 AM...**

After a chilly but restful night under the rusty camper van, the dog woke to the sound of a bugle coming from the building several yards away. Groaning and yawning, he slowly pulled himself to his feet and gave his back and legs a good stretch to rid his body of any remaining sleepiness. The sun was just beginning to rise and bathe the desert in its warmth and brightness, meaning it probably wouldn't be long before the people in the building were awake, if they were still there.

As the dog raised his head to catch a whiff of the morning air, a small rabbit sniffing around for food caught his eye. Eyes brightening with excitement, the dog bounded eagerly toward the smaller animal, which sprang for cover as soon as it saw it was being pursued. Though he would never hurt or kill another animal, the dog still enjoyed chasing smaller animals for fun; he loved the energy and thrill that only a good chase could give him.

After several minutes of darting here and there in an attempt to throw off its pursuer, the rabbit made a beeline for a large hole dug underneath the fence; it was the same hole through which the dog had entered the fenced area the day before. The dog continued to follow the rabbit until a sharp pain stabbed him in the front right paw, causing him to stumble. The dog yelped as he hit the ground, while the rabbit slipped under the fence unharmed and bounded away into the distance.

The dog pulled himself into a sitting position, wondering what had hit him. As the sound of a mechanical beep reached his ears, his eyes slowly found its source; standing just a few feet away from the hole under the fence was a small gun-like machine mounted on a tripod.

 _Strange; that thing wasn't there last night. Maybe one of those humans put it there._

Curious, the dog carefully pulled himself to his three good feet and cautiously limped toward the machine. At first it remained motionless, but as the dog came closer it emitted two sudden beeps and fired once more. This time, however, it missed its target, who was now bounding away on three legs, yelping in surprise.

The dog ducked behind a large wooden barrel out of the machine's firing range. Whimpering softly, he lay down on the cool, soft earth behind the barrel and began to lick his injured paw. His stomach growled, reminding him that he needed to find something to eat. On top of that, the chase with the rabbit had made him thirsty.

The sound of footsteps on the hard desert earth surrounding the building caught the dog's attention. As he peeked around the barrel, he noticed a person, probably one of the people who had arrived yesterday, walking around the yard in front of the building as if looking for something. Because of the baggy suit and funny black mask they were wearing, the dog couldn't tell if the person was a man or a woman; only that they were a human being.

The dog slowly crept out of his hiding place, making sure to keep his distance from the machine by the fence. He was just starting to limp toward the camper van under which he'd spent the night when the person spotted him. The dog stood frozen where he was, fearing the person would shoot a gun at him if he made any sudden movements. Instead, the person tipped their head curiously to one side, then sat cross-legged on the ground and made a few gestures signaling the dog to come to them. The injured animal hesitated for a moment, then cautiously began to limp toward the person.

 _Maybe they had some food or water with them ..._

* * *

"ALRIGHT, YOU MAGGOTS! UP AND AT 'EM! BREAKFAST WILL BE SERVED AT EXACTLY 0700 HOURS, SO UNLESS YOU DON'T PLAN ON EATING UNTIL LUNCHTIME I SUGGEST YOU MOVE IT!"

Emma groaned as she sat up in the top half of the bunk bed she shared with Audrey, one of her roommates. She had just been awakened by the blaring sound of a bugle, followed by a very loud man's voice, over the base's PA system. Clutching her favorite stuffed Palomino horse, she crawled toward the ladder at the end of the bed and began to climb down. Her roommates Violet, Audrey, and Mia were already out of bed and getting dressed.

"Did you sleep vell last night?"

At the sound of Violet's voice, all the sleepiness from the night before quickly vanished from Emma's eyes.

"Yeah, I think so," the younger girl replied.

" _Wunderbar,"_ said Violet, clapping her hands together.

"Nice to know someone's rather chipper this morning," growled Mia as she fastened the laces on her hiking boots.

"'Ey, looks like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed," Audrey giggled as she approached Mia's side, arms crossed over her chest and a mischievous grin on her face. Mia mumbled something in reply, but Audrey couldn't make it out.

Since everyone had arrived so late at the base the evening before, there hadn't been much time for the mercenaries' children to get acquainted with each other very well aside from brief introductions. Though Emma had hit it off well with Violet, she wasn't too sure about Mia or Audrey. Mia was quiet and didn't seem to want to talk much; Audrey, on the other hand, never seemed to shut up and hardly gave other people a chance to speak once she started talking. Since the boys were placed in a separate room from the girls, much like summer camp, Emma didn't get a chance to talk to any of them yet. Except Ryan, of course, but she knew him already because he was her brother.

As soon as all four girls were dressed, they made their way to the base's dining hall, where they were joined by the boys. One of Ryan's roommates, a shy and awkward boy named Nelson, kept apologizing over and over to the other children for his father waking everybody up so early in the morning.

"He does that all the time at home," Nelson explained.

"Does he call your family 'maggots', too?" asked Ryan.

Nelson shook his head. "Not anymore. Mama made him stop that because it made my little sister cry."

The mercenaries, along with Ryan and Emma's mother, Mrs. Stevens, were gathered around one of the tables in the dining hall, chatting with each other as they got breakfast ready. Some of the men looked up to notice the children entering the room, and each one called a morning greeting to his child.

"Morning, bud; morning, toots."

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty."

"Top o' the mornin', lassie."

"You slept like leetle baby, _da_?"

" _Guten Morgen, Schatz._ "

"G'day, luv; ya sleep well?"

Each child replied to his or her parent's greeting and took a seat at the table. Emma found herself seated between Violet and a tall, chubby boy named Nikolai. Ryan sat across the table from his sister between two of his roommates, a short freckle-faced boy named Henry and a dark-haired boy named Damien.

"Doesn't he know smoking is bad for him?" Emma asked. She was referring to Damien's father, who for some reason her parents called 'Spy'; he was smoking a cigarette as he got coffee from the machine next to the doorway leading to the kitchen.

"He just does not care," Damien replied dryly.

"My dad smokes, too, but he only does it outside," added Mia, who was seated next to Damien.

"Good for him, then," grunted Ryan.

"What the Sam Hill are you kids talkin' about?"

The kids immediately fell silent and raised their heads to see who had interrupted their conversation. Standing right behind Henry and Ryan was Henry's father, Mr. Conagher, also known as 'Engineer' or 'Engie'; he was holding a plate heaped high with pancakes that Nikolai was staring hungrily at.

"Nothin', Daddy," Henry answered his father, who just chuckled in reply.

"Alrighty, then, I'll leave you kids to your little secrets," he said as he set the plate of pancakes down on the table. Almost as soon as the plate was on the table, Nikolai began helping himself.

"Hey, save some for the rest of us, fatty!" Ryan protested.

Nikolai just smirked at him.

"Do I smell soiled baby diaper?" the larger boy sneered.

Ryan was about to stand up and punch Nikolai in the nose when Mr. Conagher grabbed his arm.

"Whoa, hold your horses there, son; there's plenty for all of you. And there's more on the way."

Ryan sighed and sat back down, still glaring at Nikolai.

"Next time," he muttered.

Luckily, Nikolai had only taken three pancakes before passing the plate to Emma and Violet, so there was plenty to go around. For the rest of the meal, the children remained quiet except for requests like "pass the butter" or "more syrup, please". Ryan kept his eyes on Nikolai, who just stuck out his tongue at the smaller boy whenever he noticed him looking at him. Henry and Damien exchanged disgusted glances and shook their heads at the other two boys' behavior.

Emma was just finishing off her last bite of pancake when her nose caught the unmistakable smell of something burning. She turned her head to see where the smell was coming from ... and noticed a thick cloud of smoke emerging from the kitchen.

Nikolai's father, known as Heavy, saw the smoke, too. "Kitchen is on fire!" he shouted as he jumped from his seat. The other men followed his lead, scrambling to find the extinguisher and other items with which to put out the fire.

"Dagnabbit it, Pyro!" cried Mr. Conagher. "I knew we shouldn'ta let you cook!" Turning toward the children, he added, "You kids get outta here and wait outside; we'll come and get you when it's safe."

Under Mrs. Stevens' supervision, the children got up from the table and filed out of the dining hall two by two. Nikolai gently took Emma's hand in his own.

"Come, leetle girl; we go outside now."

"Looks like the day just got more interesting," Emma said to herself as she took Nikolai's hand and followed him out into the yard.


	3. Chapter 3

The dog now stood a couple feet before the mysterious masked being, anxiously waiting for their next move; when a minute passed without any sudden movements from the person, the dog sat down and cocked his head curiously to the right, his wagging tail thumping against the slowly warming ground. A few crows could be heard calling beyond the fence surrounding the compound, but other than that there was just the wind blowing.

The masked person slowly reached a glove-clad hand toward the dog as if to pet him, which caused the animal to flinch in surprise; however, the dog remained where he was and made no attempts to fight or escape. Curiosity gradually overcame fear as the dog leaned forward to smell the approaching hand.

The person's hand smelled mostly of rubber and smoke, but the dog could also make out the scents of eggs, fried batter, and bacon. _Bacon!_ His tail wagged in eager anticipation as he began to lick the hand.

The person emitted a soft muffled sound that might have been a chuckle, but it was hard to tell because of the mask they were wearing. Now the dog had crawled into the person's lap and was trying to lick the mask that covered their face. The muffled chuckles became louder as the person placed one hand against the ground to steady themselves and the other hand against the dog's chest to gently push him off.

Suddenly, an angry shout came from one of the entrances to the front of the building, causing the startled dog to jump out of the person's lap. Three more humans, all men, came out of the building and were hurrying toward the place where the person sat. Judging by the looks on their faces and the tones in their voices, they hadn't come out to say hello.

As the masked person pulled themselves to their feet and turned to face the angry men, the dog limped away as fast as he could and crawled under the old van parked several feet away from the building. He wasn't sure if those other three humans were friendly or not, but he was not going to take any chances while they were angry.

* * *

" _Dummkopf!_ You left zhe stove on!"

"Geez! Can't we trust ya with anything?"

"You have dishonored this entire unit; do you understand that, you masked buffoon?"

Pyro remained silent as Jeremy, Jim, and Dietrich led them back into the base, waving their hands in the air and scolding. Apparently, Pyro forgot to turn off the stove when they finished making breakfast and had left a frying pan with bacon on the stove to burn. Luckily the other mercenaries caught the smoke and were able to put out the fire before it spread, but the stove was ruined.

"Now we've gotta do our cookin' outside over a campfire 'till I can fix the darn thing," moaned a dismayed Dell, the team's engineer. "Not sure when I'll have time fer that."

"Not so fast, mate," said Luke, the team's sniper. "I think the stove in my van still works; we could use that."

Dell shook his head. "I dunno, Snipes; I'd hate to bother ya in your van just to use the stove, 'specially to make breakfast."

"It'd be no trouble at all," replied the Australian. "I'm usually up early anyway, and I'm tryin' ta break my habit of takin' naps before dinner."

"Well alrighty, then," the Texan agreed. Turning to the Pyro, he added, "But from now on, no more cookin' for you without supervision. Got it?"

Pyro nodded sadly while the other mercenaries heartily agreed.

"Guess I'll go get Susan and the kids and tell 'em it's safe to come back in," said Jeremy. Without waiting for a reply from the others, he hurried down the hall leading from the dining room to the lower left yard.

* * *

The dog slowly peeked his head out from under the van and watched as the person in the strange black mask was led back into the building by the three men. Once they were gone, he crawled back out into the open and began to explore the rest of the dusty yard, looking for something that could lead him to food or water. He was careful to avoid the beeping machine by the fence that caused him to hurt his paw.

As the dog wandered across the dry, barren yard, his ears perked up at the sound of children's voices, one of which sounded strangely familiar to him. Tail wagging in excitement, he followed the voices until he came to the lower left corner of the yard.

Standing a few feet from the door that marked the lower left entrance to the building was a small group of children, about nine or ten of them. Keeping watch over the group was a dark-haired woman who would shoot occasional glances at the door as if waiting for someone to come out. Some of the children were whispering to one another; others remained quiet and glanced nervously around the yard. As the dog came closer he recognized one of the children as the girl who gave him her sandwich the day before; she was minus her backpack and had her arms folded across her chest, a bored expression on her face.

The woman turned her attention away from the door and began to count the children before her. As she reached nine, a concerned expression crossed her face.

One child was missing.

"Emma? Where's Emma?"

As the woman anxiously asked the other children if they'd seen the missing child, the dog turned to go back to the front yard. But before he could take another step, something caught his eye.

Far ahead of him was a small human girl, probably the one missing from the group. She appeared to be holding a stuffed toy resembling a horse and was kneeling close to the ground, scratching something into the dirt with a stick. Not too far behind her was a big rattlesnake slowly making its way toward her.

The dog knew he probably wasn't as smart as other dogs, but he also knew enough about rattlesnakes to know they were dangerous. Forgetting his hunger and for the moment his hurt paw, he sprang toward the girl and threw himself between her and the snake.

* * *

Emma gasped and quickly jumped to her feet when she heard a loud thump behind her. Clutching her stuffed horse tightly to her chest, she slowly turned around to see what had startled her. A medium-sized brown and white dog was crouching in a defensive position directly before the girl, his back end facing her and his head lowered near the ground. Less than a foot from the dog's nose was a rattlesnake, its fangs bared and ready to strike.

Emma felt the blood slowly drain from her face. Her parents had told her back at the airport there would be snakes and other dangerous animals in the desert, and that she should never touch them because their bite or sting was poisonous and could kill a person. She wondered whether she should scream for help or run back to her mother, who was waiting near the left entrance to the base with Ryan and the other kids. But what if the dog got bit by the snake? She didn't want him to get hurt.

But before she, the dog, or the snake could make another move, the frantic voices of her parents reached Emma's ears. Susan was yelling her daughter's name and Jeremy was shouting "Oh my god! Oh my god!" over and over as both parents rushed to defend their child. But before either of them could reach Emma, a sudden gunshot rang out, followed by an explosion of dirt causing both dog and girl to jump backward and stumble over each other.

Emma's breath rushed out of her as she hit the ground, falling on her back. The dog scrambled to his feet seconds after he hit the ground and limped toward Emma as quickly as he could. Wondering if the girl was okay, he began to lick her face. Emma carefully pulled herself into a sitting position and put her arm around the dog's shoulders as his wet pink tongue continued to stroke her cheek, a cute moment that was interrupted by the arrival of Emma's parents.

"Oh my God, Emma! Somebody get that dog offa her!"

"Oh, Emma! My poor, sweet baby!"

Jeremy shooed the dog away as Susan knelt beside their daughter and carefully helped her to her feet. Several feet away stood the team's spy, Maurice, revolver in hand and a dead rattlesnake at his feet. Luke stood proudly at his side.

"Good shot, mate," the Australian congratulated his French teammate. "Couldn'ta done better myself."

Maurice rolled his eyes. "Ze child was in danger, I did what I had to," he replied nonchalantly. He groaned in disgust as he nudged the snake's head with the toe of his fancy shoe. "As I have no interest in ze bodies of dead reptiles, you may have it."

"Thanks, mate." Luke knelt to the ground and carefully picked up the dead snake to inspect it. It was a rather sizeable specimen, with a beautiful pattern of scales running along its back. "Ah, this 'un's a beaut; I could make me a nice belt outta this skin."

"Do what you will with it, bushman," growled Maurice. "Just get it out of here!"

As Luke carried the snake to his van to skin it, Maurice made his way to Jeremy and Susan. By now both had calmed down and were checking Emma for injuries.

"I assume ze child is fine?" Maurice asked the parents.

"She skinned her elbow, but other than that she's alright," Susan answered. "Where are the others?"

"Ze bushman and I sent them inside when we came out here," the Frenchman told her. "By the way, I believe I saw another animal with Emma when I shot the snake; it did not hurt her either, I hope?"

"Oh, yeah," Jeremy replied. "There was a stray dog slobberin' all over her face, but I got him off before he could bite her or anythin'; wonder where he went?"

"The dog wasn't hurting me, Daddy," Emma protested. "He was just licking me."

Jeremy knelt down to his daughter's level and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know he probably didn't mean to hurt ya, toots," he said, "but I was worried he might be carryin' rabies or somethin' else that could make ya very sick."

"I don't know, Scout," Susan spoke up. "That dog looked pretty healthy and well-fed to me; maybe he belongs to someone." She looked toward the road beyond the fence leading from the base to the town of Teufort. "I have to go into town today to see the Administrator about something; if I have time I'll stop by the pound and ask if anyone's missing a dog."

"Sounds good to me," Jeremy replied. "In the meantime, let's keep an eye out for him in case he comes back."

Maurice, having remained quiet for a little while, suddenly cleared his throat.

"Yeah, what is it, Spy?" Jeremy asked.

"It appears our little canine friend has returned already," the Frenchman remarked. "Look."


	4. Chapter 4

After being shooed away from the little girl by her father, the dog bounded across the yard and stopped to look back once he was a good distance from the human family. Now the girl's mother was helping her daughter to her feet, and the dog could see two men, one of whom was wearing a fancy suit and a mask exposing parts of his face, approaching the lifeless body of the rattlesnake. There was no sign of the other nine children the girl's mother was looking after; perhaps they went back into the building.

The dog sat upon the dusty ground and continued to watch the humans from afar, looking back and forth between the girl and her parents and the two men standing by the dead snake. So far no one was paying any attention to him. The man in the suit and mask nudged the dead snake with his foot and said something to the tall, rugged man standing next to him. After exchanging a few words with his masked companion the tall man knelt to the ground, carefully picked up the snake, and carried it away.

After the tall man left, the masked man walked over to the little girl and her parents and began to speak with them. The dog carefully leaned forward and perked his ears, trying to listen to what was being said. He couldn't understand everything the humans were saying, but he when he heard the girl's mother say the word "pound", his heart began to beat faster.

That word he understood too well, and it did not mean good news for him.

He remembered when he first arrived at the tall, scary building just outside the big city. The man and woman who brought him there after finding him in a dark, smelly alley called it "the Pound". The dog remembered what it was like there, and he liked it a lot less than he liked living in the alley. He was put in a small pen in a cold room with several other dogs, with only a threadbare blanket to sleep on. A fat, sour-faced man came into the room twice a day to feed the dogs, and judging by his rotten attitude he didn't seem to like dogs very much. Four times a day the dogs were let out of their pens to play in the yard behind the pound, but even that wasn't much fun for the dog; some of the bigger dogs would often take the toys he was playing with, and when he tried to fight them it always ended with him being taken back to his pen by an angry human calling him a "bad dog".

Sometimes single humans, couples, or families would come to the pound looking for a pet; a few stopped to look at the dog and even pet him, but in the end they always chose a different dog. According to the people working at the pound, dogs who were not chosen after a long time had passed were "put to sleep". The dog did not understand what that meant, but he did not like the sound of it.

That was why he escaped from that dreadful place, and there was no way he was going back.

The dog wondered whether he should try escaping through the hole under the fence and risk that gun-like machine shooting at him again when he noticed the masked man pointing a gloved finger in his direction. Soon the little girl and her parents were also looking his way. The dog carefully pulled himself to his feet and began to limp toward the fence when he heard a whistle and a voice calling to him.

* * *

Jeremy, Susan, and Emma turned their heads to look in the direction Maurice was pointing. Just as the Frenchman had said, the dog from earlier was sitting several feet across the yard from the four of them, waiting for their next move.

"You think we should call him over?" Jeremy asked Susan.

"I suppose we could try," his wife replied. "He doesn't appear to be nervous, but I'd be careful not to scare him."

Jeremy took three steps toward the dog, who responded by getting up and turning toward the fence. Sensing the dog might be trying to flee, the Bostonian slowly knelt to the ground on one knee and began whistling, snapping his fingers, and patting his thigh in an attempt to coax the dog to come to him.

"Here, dog! Here, boy! It's okay, I won't hurt ya. Come on over."

The dog paused on his way to the fence and looked back at the skinny, boyish-looking man calling to him. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly turned back toward Jeremy and began to approach him, head lowed in submission all the while.

Jeremy continued to whistle and call to the dog until the animal stood just inches from him. The Bostonian remained in a kneeling position so as to appear less intimidating and began to gently scratch the dog behind his ears.

"Hey, you're a kinda cute little fella, ain'tcha?" Jeremy crooned as the dog began to lick his hand. "You're such a good boy, yes you are!"

Emma was about to rush forward to pet the dog with her father when her mother stopped her.

"Careful, honey, he might bite you."

"But he's a good dog, Mama," Emma protested. "He didn't bite me, and he isn't biting Daddy."

"Just because he didn't bite you or Daddy doesn't mean he won't bite other people, sweetheart," her mother told her. "Sometimes even a friendly animal will bite if it feels threatened."

"Or if it is injured," Maurice remarked.

Jeremy looked up at the older man, a puzzled expression on his face. "What d'ya mean?"

"I couldn't help but notice zat ze dog was limping and holding his right front paw above ze ground." The European took a puff from his cigarette before clearing his throat to continue. "I'm guessing either zat snake bit him, or he injured it coming through zat hole under ze fence."

Jeremy and Susan knew which hole he was talking about. Shortly after the team's arrival at the base the previous day, Dell and Luke had discovered a hole under the fence near the upper right end of the yard. Fearing that wild animals would try to get in through the hole, Dell had placed a mini-Sentry next to it to keep them out until the hole could be filled in.

"I don't think that snake bit him, Spy," answered Jeremy. By now the dog was seated before him and allowing him to examine his injured paw. "I don't see any bite marks or nothin' on his foot."

"And if he did get in through that hole, he couldn't have done so after yesterday evening," Susan added. "The Sentry would have killed him."

Maurice sighed impatiently as he gently flicked his cigarette to rid it of the ash building up on its tip. "Well, whatever we're going to do about him we'd better do it soon. It's getting late."

Jeremy knew all too well what that meant. By now, the chill of night was completely gone from the dry desert air and replaced with the soft, balmy warmth of mid-morning. Before long it would be noon, when the sun reached its zenith and the sweltering desert heat the Badlands were widely known for began to take over. Jeremy looked at his wife, who immediately understood what he was thinking; it just wouldn't do for the poor dog to be left outside to bake in the sun.

"Still," Susan said hesitantly, "what if he has fleas or ticks? I don't want the base to get infested with those awful things. Also, do you or Spy know if any of the other kids are allergic to dogs?"

"I or one of the other guys could go into town with ya and pick up some flea powder and other stuff while you're busy with the Administrator," Jeremy offered. "And I remember Heavy, Snipes, and Engie tellin' me their kids have dogs at home."

"As does Damien," Maurice added.

Susan nodded. "Okay, so that leaves Violet, Nelson, Kevin, and Audrey. How about this: I'm going back inside to speak with their fathers and find out for sure, and we'll decide what to do from there. Alright?"

"Sounds like a plan," Jeremy replied, while Maurice simply nodded in agreement. The dog responded by wagging his tail.

"Does this mean he can stay?" Emma asked eagerly.

"We'll see," her mother told her. "As for you, I think you'd better come inside with me. You've been out in the sun longer than I'd like." Noticing the disappointment on her daughter's face, she added, "And don't worry about the dog; your father and Mr. Renault* will take care of him."

Emma nodded and reluctantly took her mother's hand. As the two of them started back toward the base, the girl looked briefly over her shoulder to see the dog watching her departure with sad, wistful eyes.

 _Poor doggie,_ she thought to herself. _I hope he can stay …_

 ***A/N: Renault is Spy's last name for this story, so yeah, Spy's name for MTO is Maurice Renault.**


	5. Chapter 5

"…And then he used his fight money to buy two of every animal on Earth..!"

Ryan placed the palms of his hands against both sides of his face and groaned. It had only been twenty minutes since he and the other eight mercenaries' children had been sent back into the base while his parents remained outside to search for Emma, but it felt like an eternity. Now all nine kids were seated on a large shabby-looking couch in the base's main living area, sporting bored expressions on their faces as they watched the short but brutish man known as the Soldier pace back and forth across the room as he blabbered on and on about the life of some long dead guy named Sun Tzu and, for some reason, why you should never teleport bread.

 _So the guy invented fighting, punched through somebody's ribcage, and beat the crap out of a bunch of animals on a boat,_ Ryan thought with disgust. _Blah blah blah, big whoo-_

 **WHAP!**

A sudden cracking sound jolted Ryan from his thoughts, causing the boy to abruptly pull himself into an upright but still seated position.

"Pay attention, son!" barked the gruff voice of the Soldier. "This is important information that could one day save your life on the battlefield!"

Every two or three minutes the Soldier would pause his lecture to check whether the children were paying attention, and if there was someone who wasn't he would crack the small whip he often carried with him against the wall, causing the distracted child to immediately turn his or her attention back to him. So far the wall had only been struck twice, but a tiny dent was beginning to form where the whip had hit it.

Ryan leaned into the back of the couch, arms folded across his chest. As the Soldier's speech continued to bombard his ears, the boy turned his attention to the seven children seated to his right. Nelson nibbled at his fingernails while keeping his anxious gaze on his father, Nikolai patted his round belly, Audrey tucked a lock of her curly hair behind her ear, Kevin wiped his nose with the sleeve of his coat, Henry scratched at a scab on his elbow, Mia fiddled with the bandana she wore around her neck, and Damien raised a hand to his mouth to stifle a yawn.

Only Violet sat to Ryan's left. Though the girl kept her gaze on the lecturing Soldier, her mind was on Emma and wondering if the younger girl was okay. Upon their arrival in New Mexico, Violet had been warned by her father about snakes, scorpions, and other dangerous animals that inhabited the desert and would attack if they felt disturbed or threatened. The mere thought of her little friend wandering through a strange desert full of venomous creatures that might hurt or even kill her was enough to send chills up the older girl's spine.

 _She couldn't have wandered too far_ , Violet thought, trying to calm herself. _There's no way she could've gotten past that fence…_

 **WHAP!**

Another crack of the Soldier's whip against the wall brought Violet out of her thoughts and back into reality; however, this time it also caught the attention of the four mercenaries who were working quietly at the back of the room.

"Great Scot, lad!" cried Tavish, the demo-man. "What did that wall ever do to ye?"

"And why the Sam Hill do you have our young'uns lined up on the couch?" Dell demanded.

The Pyro said something in agreement with Dell, but his gas mask made it difficult for the others to hear what he was saying.

The Soldier crossed his arms over his chest, whip still clenched in his enormous fist, before responding.

"I will not have any soldier under my command going into battle unprepared," he replied matter-of-factly.

"For zhe love of God, Herr Soldier," groaned Dietrich, the medic. "Zhey are children; zhey are too young for battle!"

The Soldier opened his mouth to respond to Dietrich, but was interrupted by a whimper from Nelson.

"This isn't military school, is it, Daddy?" the boy asked, sounding as if he was trying not to cry. "'Cause you promised Mama you wouldn't send me to military school for a while."

The other eight children seated on the couch exchanged puzzled glances.

The Soldier adjusted his helmet so that he could see in front of him more clearly before kneeling to his son's level.

"Now listen here, son …" he began, his voice gentler than before, but still gruff. He paused to take a deep breath before continuing, but was again interrupted when Susan entered the room with the recently recovered Emma.

"Miss Paul – I mean Mrs. Stevens!" The Soldier scrambled to his feet and stood at attention facing Susan, saluting awkwardly. The boys, except for Nelson, began to whisper to each other while pointing at the ridiculous-looking Soldier, and the girls held their hands to their mouths to stifle their giggles. Nelson shot his comrades a look of annoyance, but he remained quiet.

"At ease, Soldier," Susan replied. As soon as the burly man standing before her relaxed, she continued, "Could I please speak with you, Medic, Pyro, and Demo? It's … um … kind of urgent."

"Of course, Mrs. Stevens," the Soldier responded. He turned sharply toward the back of the room and bellowed, "Nurse! Cyclops! Firebug! Report to the front of the room at once! Mrs. Stevens has something she wishes to discuss."

"Ve heard her zhe first time, Herr Soldier!" a very annoyed Dietrich called back.

As the three mercenaries proceeded to the front of the room, Susan turned to her daughter.

"Emma, how about you go wait by the couch with Ryan and the others? And don't wander off this time."

The little girl nodded slowly. "Yes, Mom."

As Emma headed toward the couch to wait with the other kids, her mother turned her attention back to the four mercenaries who now stood before her.

"What can we do for ya, lass?" Tavish asked.

"Well," Susan began, "I was wondering if any of your children had any sort of animal allergy. You see, there's this stray dog out in the yard ..."

* * *

"Emma! Zhank God you're okay."

"Ya had us worried, lassie."

"Leetle girl must stay with group from now on. Is not good to wander off."

Emma found herself showered with greetings as she joined the other kids gathered around the couch. Now that the Soldier was occupied elsewhere, most of the children felt free to stand and walk around a little, but a few remained seated.

Ryan, unfortunately, was not so thrilled about his sister's return.

"Geez, Emma, why d'ya have to do stupid stuff like that and make us all worry?" he moaned.

"Ryan, hush!" scolded Violet.

Emma, however, paid no attention to her brother's comment.

"You guys are not gonna believe what happened out there," she said excitedly.

Ryan opened his mouth to make a sarcastic remark, but was quickly silenced by disapproving glares from Nikolai and Violet.

"Does it have anything to do with why your mom wanted to speak with my and Violet's dads and Kevin's uncle?" Nelson asked.

"And why your and Damien's fathers aren't back yet?" Mia added.

"Cripes' sake, ya two, let the girl talk," Audrey scolded. As soon as Mia and Nelson fell silent, she turned to Emma and coaxed, "Go ahead, lassie."

Emma paused to make sure all nine of the older kids were paying attention, then proceeded to tell the story of how the dog had saved her from getting bitten by the rattlesnake. Being only six, she would exaggerate some of the details to make the story seem more interesting, but with the exception of Ryan no one seemed to mind. Every once in a while Ryan would roll his eyes in annoyance at his sister's exaggerations, but he kept quiet and allowed Emma to finish her story without interruptions.

"So a stray dog defended you from a snake, and you are hoping your parents will allow you to keep him, am I correct?" Damien asked.

Emma nodded.

"I wonder if it's the same dog I saw the other day," Mia mused.

"Maybe he is," said Emma. "Anyway, I hope we can keep him. Mom and Dad promised us that we could have a dog someday."

"They didn't promise us that, Emma," Ryan told his sister. "They said they'd think about it."

"But they didn't say 'no', either," Emma retorted. "Anyway, the dog's waiting outside with Daddy and Mr. Renault, and I think Mr. Mundy took the snake to his van to skin it."

A disgusted expression crossed Ryan's face. "Yecchhh, who'd want to skin a snake?"

"He probably means to make a belt or something out of it," Mia told him. "I've seen him skin a crocodile before."

"A crocodile!" Henry exclaimed. "Ya gotta be kiddin' me!"

Mia shook her head. "I'm not kidding, mate; I saw it with my own two eyes."

"Uh-huh, sure," Damien grunted, but Mia ignored him.

"I helped Papa kill a bear once," Nikolai boasted. "Was very big bear, even taller than Papa."

"No way!" Emma gasped, her eyes wide in a mixture of awe and disbelief.

"Unbelievable," muttered Ryan.

Kevin, who had thus far kept quiet, now suddenly cleared his throat. The other children immediately stopped talking and turned their attention to the strange hooded boy.

As far as the other children were concerned, Kevin, nephew of the Pyro, was an odd one. He wore a shabby coat with a large hood that covered his eyes, he was so quiet one would easily forget he was there, and he rarely spoke. When he did talk it was little more than a mumble you had to listen very carefully to in order to understand

"Yeah, what's up, mumbles?" Ryan asked.

" _Ja_ , vat is it?" Violet chimed in.

Without saying a word, Kevin pointed his finger toward the hallway leading to the front door.

There, at the entrance to the room, stood a medium-sized brown and white dog.


	6. Chapter 6

"It's him, it's him!" Emma whispered excitedly, loud enough for the other children to hear her but quiet enough so that her mother and the men she was speaking with didn't notice. "It's the dog who saved me from the snake!"

Sure enough, the dog stood at the entrance to the base's living room, tail wagging in anticipation of food, water, head pats, and belly rubs from eager children. As the kids, led by Emma, made their way toward him and began to gather around him, he carefully lay down and rolled over so that he was lying on his back, all four legs folded against his body.

"Hey there, mate!" Mia exclaimed, a smile of recognition spreading across her face. "Didn't think I'd see you again."

She slowly knelt to the floor and held out her hand to the dog, who proceeded to lick it as Emma, Kevin, and Audrey knelt to the dog's right and began rubbing his belly. Henry and Nelson knelt to his left and joined in with the belly-rubbing. Only Violet and Damien remained standing.

"You know leetle dog?" Nikolai asked Mia as he knelt beside her to get a better look at the dog.

"Yeah, saw him just the other day," the lanky girl replied. "Fella crawled under that hole in the fence and came right over, but then Dad called me to come help with Mrs. Stevens' bags."

"He looks hungry," said Violet. "I wonder if we have anything he could eat."

"I think there's some sliced turkey left in the fridge from last night's sandwiches," said Ryan. "We could give him a few pieces, I suppose. I'll go check."

As Ryan turned away from the group and started for the kitchen, he was intercepted by a stern-faced, cross-armed Soldier. The boy felt the blood drain from his face as he faced the brutish man standing before him. Apparently, the kids weren't the only ones aware of the dog's presence in the room.

"Excuse me, sir," Ryan began. "I was just –"

The megaphone-like voice of the Soldier cut him off.

"WHO LET THAT SCRAWNY MUTT IN HERE?"

The children jumped to their feet as the dog rolled back on to his stomach and pulled himself into a sitting position, whimpering. Violet, Mia, and Damien pressed their hands against their temples, wincing in pain from the Soldier's voice assaulting their eardrums. Sensing another stern lecture from his father, Nelson tucked his arms behind his back and stared at the floor. Fearing that her new friend was about to be thrown back outside, Emma wrapped her arms around the dog's shoulders and nuzzled her cheek against his.

"This is unacceptable!" the Soldier continued his rant as all ten children and the dog cowered before him. "I will not allow my base to be turned into a home for stray animals! That dog has got to go, or so help me -!"

"Gosh, Solly, what's yer deal? Why you yellin' at the kids like that?"

An annoyed Jeremy appeared before the Soldier, arms folded across his chest. He was almost immediately joined by Susan and Dietrich.

"Jeremy, why is that dog in here?" Susan asked.

"Well, I noticed he was getting' kinda thirsty out there, so I was just gonna get him some water," Jeremy explained. "But the minute I opened the door, he was bolting for it." The Bostonian snapped his fingers for emphasis. "Just like that! Hurt paw or no. Neither Spy nor I could stop him."

"So much for being unstoppable and a force of nature," Dietrich sneered.

Jeremy was about to make an angry retort when Susan intervened.

"That's enough, both of you! In case you've forgotten, there are children present!"

Emma watched her parents and the older men apprehensively, holding the dog close to her. A few of the older children clustered around the little girl and dog as if to protect them.

After Jeremy had calmed down, he asked Susan what she'd learned from the older mercenaries regarding their children's allergies.

"Well, it appears that none of the kids have any allergies to dogs," Susan said. "However, Soldier did tell me that Nelson was bitten by a neighbor's German shepherd when he was five. Right, Jim?"

"Affirmative," the Soldier replied.

"Do dogs still scare him?" Jeremy asked.

"Only large ones. Smaller dogs like that one, he has no problem with." The Soldier paused to clear his throat, then continued. "However, I do not believe that animal is suited for life on my base, so he'll have to go."

"It's not your -!" Ryan started to yell, but was silenced by a stern look from his mother.

"Also, vat if zhat dog scares _meine Tauben_?" asked Dietrich, taking his chance to voice his concerns regarding the stray animal within the base.

A puzzled expression crossed Jeremy's face. "Your _what_?"

Dietrich scowled in reply.

"My doves, _Dummkopf_!" snarled the German. "I thought I explained zhat to you already!"

Jeremy waved his hands as if in surrender. "Hey, easy, Doc; it's been awhile since my last German lesson!"

Susan stepped between the two arguing men and gently placed a hand on each man's chest as if to shove them apart.

"Okay, that's enough, you two. This is distracting from the topic at hand."

Both men fell silent. The children, who had been giggling at Dietrich's use of the term _Dummkopf_ , also quieted down.

"How about this?" Susan began her proposal. "There's a small room just off the rear entrance to the base. It's well ventilated and has an old rug the dog can lie on, so it should be okay for him to stay in there for the time being. Also, I'll be going into town in a little bit, so I could pick up some pet supplies like flea shampoo while I'm out." She turned to her children. "As for you two, I'd like you to give our little guest a bath this afternoon when it cools a bit outside."

Ryan's and Emma's faces fell at their mother's request.

"Awwwwwwwwww, do we hafta, Mom?" Ryan grumbled.

"If the dog is to stay here, then yes," Susan replied.

"I agree with yer ma," Jeremy added.

"But I don't know how to give a dog a bath," Emma protested.

Mia placed a hand on Emma's shoulder. "I can help ya with that," the older girl said. "I bathe my dogs all the time back home."

"Same here," added Henry.

One by one the other children agreed to help as well, until only Damien was left.

"Aren't ye gonna help too, lad?" Audrey asked.

The dark-haired French boy wrinkled his nose and remained silent as if to refuse.

"What'sa matter, Frenchie?" Ryan sneered. "Afraid you'll end up smelling like a wet dog or somethin'?"

Damien rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. Ryan was about to hurl another taunt at him when Nikolai intervened.

"Damien does not have to help if he does not wish to," the bigger boy growled. "We can wash leetle dog without him."

Ryan immediately backed off.

"Whatever, fatty," the smaller boy muttered.

Susan folded her arms across her chest and nodded her head. "I guess it's settled, then."

"Very well," grunted the Soldier. He turned his attention to the children. "As for you little whelps, as long as this mutt remains with us he is your responsibility. All ten of you will be responsible for seeing to his every need. Do I make myself clear?"

All ten children nodded in unison. "Yes, sir."

"Does this mean we can keep him?" Emma asked eagerly.

Susan and Jeremy exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what to tell their daughter without disappointing her. Emma had been asking for a dog ever since the family moved out of their apartment in downtown Boston and into a small but nice house in the suburbs, which was almost two years ago. Jeremy thought getting a dog was a good idea, but Susan had doubts as to whether her children could handle the responsibility of a pet. In addition, their yard had no fence.

"We'll see, toots," Jeremy replied. Seeing Emma's disappointment at his answer, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you've been wanting a dog for a long time, but I don't think now's a good time. Besides, this dog might already have a family who's lookin' for him."

Emma sniffled as tears began to form in her eyes.

"I hope not. I really, really, really want him to be my dog because he saved me from that snake."

"I know ya do, Em," said Jeremy. He held his daughter close as she buried her face in his shoulder and started to cry. "But we still gotta be ready to say goodbye to him if we have to. Can you be a big girl for me, Emma? Can you give the dog back to his family without making a fuss?"

Emma raised her head and looked her father in the eye. "I'll try."

Jeremy smiled. "That's my girl. Now why don't you get the dog some water while we take him to his room?"

A huge smile crossed Emma's face as she nodded eagerly. "Yes, sir!"

As his daughter pranced off toward the kitchen and his son and the other children went off in different directions, Jeremy turned his attention to the dog, who was watching the Bostonian with expectant eyes and panting softly.

"C'mere, pal. Let's get ya to your room, and maybe Doc can have a look at that foot of yours."

"Oh, that's right," Susan exclaimed. "I forgot about his foot. Perhaps you could do something about that, Dietrich? At least take a look at it and make sure it isn't broken?"

Dietrich, apparently less than enthusiastic about caring for an animal that wasn't one of his doves, heaved a sigh of annoyance.

"Very well, zhen. Let's get zhis over with."


	7. Chapter 7

Since his introduction to Mrs. Stevens, the mercenaries, and their kids, the dog had received some much-needed food and water, as well as frequent pets and belly-rubs from the children. He also had his injured paw tended to by Dietrich, which he was by no means excited about. After two escape attempts and an exasperating twenty-minute hunt around the base, Mikhail and Tavish had to hold the struggling dog down while Dietrich prepared his Medi-gun and moved it into position over the dog's paw.

As soon as his paw was healed and the men released him, the dog wasted no time jumping off the cold metal table in Dietrich's examining room and dashing up the stairs to safety. For the rest of the morning and early afternoon he remained in his room, except for times when one of the children would let him outdoors to do his business.

Later that day, Jeremy and Susan returned from their trip to town with several bags, most of them containing food and items meant for humans to use, but one bag contained items the dog was sure were meant for him. He wagged his tail with excitement when he saw some cans of dog food, a box of dog treats, an orange ball and a few other toys being removed from the bag; however, he also noticed a bottle of soap, a strange-looking collar, a small box of pills, a can of funny-smelling powder, and an item called a 'leash' that he remembered from his days at the pound.

"I take it zese are for ze fleas?" asked Maurice, holding up the collar and the pills for inspection.

"Yeah, I thought I'd get more than one thing so if one doesn't work, we could try another," Jeremy replied. "I figured we could try the collar after the kids give him a bath."

"Did you get a chance to stop by the pound?" Susan asked her husband. "My meeting with the Administrator took up more time than I expected, so I couldn't do it myself."

Jeremy nodded. "The lady there told me there haven't been any missing dog reports in the Badlands area so far this month; however, when I described the dog we found to her she told me that a dog escaped from the pound in Albuquerque a few days ago who looked just like him."

"Was anyone in Albuquerque looking for him?"

"She said not that she knew of, but she'd give them a call just to be sure."

Susan then turned to Maurice. "I take it the kids and the dog didn't give you any trouble while we were gone?"

"Oh, zat reminds me," Maurice replied, "While you were gone I caught your daughter throwing my cigarettes in ze trash. When I asked her where she found zem, she confessed to having entered my smoking room, as vell as ze bushman's van, without either of our permission."

Susan and Jeremy exchanged uneasy glances.

"Where is she now?" Jeremy asked.

"I sent her upstairs to wait in ze girls' rooms for your return." The Frenchman reached into his jacket and pulled out an unlit cigarette, then added as he prepared to light it, "I'd thank you to teach your children about respecting other people's personal space in ze future."

Susan sighed. "I'll go talk to her about that. Does Sniper know Emma was in his van?"

Maurice shook his head. "As far as I know, he does not."

Jeremy shrugged. "Might as well tell him, then, just so he knows where his cigs ran off to." He turned and headed for the door. "In the meantime, I'm gonna get that pool down from the roof of the van and hook up the hose so the kids can give the dog a bath. I'll let ya know when everything's ready."

Susan nodded as she headed upstairs to speak with Emma. "Okay, then. See you in a bit."

* * *

Later that afternoon, the dog found himself standing in the center of a small plastic kiddie pool filled with cool, soapy water. Ryan, Emma, Nikolai, and Mia were in the pool with him, clad in colorful swimwear and rubbing strange-smelling soap into his soaking wet fur. Audrey, Violet and Nelson sat just outside the pool in front of the dog, armed with dog treats to keep him calm and towels to dry him off once his bath was finished. Henry stood next to the pool holding the nozzle of a long green hose connected to a spigot just off the rear entrance to the base. Positioned next to the spigot was Kevin, ready to turn the water flow on or off when called upon.

Only Damien was not taking part in washing the dog. He was lying face-down upon a foldable chaise lounge across the yard from the other children, sporting a pair of navy blue swim trunks.

"The heck's his deal?" Ryan sneered.

"Ryan, please leave him alone," said Violet.

"Yes, mother," Ryan replied mockingly. Violet, however, acted like she didn't hear him.

"You have the patience of a saint, lass," Audrey remarked.

"Vell, my brother Max did give me plenty of practice in dealing vith boys," Violet explained, and both girls giggled.

"Hey!" Nelson protested, but the girls ignored him.

Much to everyone's surprise, the dog held still for most of his bath, except for when he shook himself right after Henry wet him down with the hose the first time. After one final rub of her soapy hand into the dog's shoulder, Mia stood up to admire her handiwork. She was soon followed by Nikolai, then Ryan, then Emma.

"Okay, mates, looks like he's ready for rinsing," Mia announced.

" _Da_ ," Nikolai agreed. He then bellowed in Kevin's direction, "Water! Now!"

Kevin mumbled something in reply, then turned the spigot to activate the flow. The dog flinched at the sudden sound of gushing water, but remained where he was while Henry rinsed the suds from his fur. However, as soon as the water was turned off again, the dog sprang out of the pool and shook himself a second time, spraying the kids surrounding him with water.

"Ahhhhkppt! He's getting water everywhere!"

"No, bad dog! Make him stop!"

"Oh no! Now the towels are all soggy!"

Damien lifted his head from the chair he was resting on and smirked when he saw the other children screaming and waving their arms about as the dog shook himself all over them.

 _Now they're going to smell like wet dog and need a bath themselves_ , he thought. He carefully lifted himself from the chair and stood up. _All this lying in the sun has made me thirsty; I wonder if we have any orange juice…_

As he started toward the base, a raccoon emerged from under the chair Damien just left and began to follow him. By now the other children had stopped screaming and were now beginning to clean up the mess left from the dog's bath. Ryan and Mia were drying the dog off with some old towels, Henry and Kevin were winding up the hose, and Violet was handing out dry towels to Audrey, Nelson, Nikolai, and Emma.

"Oh, hi, Damien," Henry greeted the older boy as he approached. Damien merely snorted in reply.

At first, no one said anything about the raccoon that had followed Damien to the base. Then Nelson, having recognized the raccoon as his father's pet, Lieutenant Bites, slowly raised his hand.

"Um, Damien …?"

Damien huffed, then turned to face Nelson. "What?"

Having spotted the raccoon, the dog gave a sudden lunge forward and let out a yelp, startling not only the children, but Lieutenant Bites as well. The raccoon screeched in surprise and scrambled up the nearest thing he could find, which unfortunately happened to be Damien.

The French boy screamed as the raccoon climbed on to his head.

" _Sacrè bleu!_ " Damien cried, stumbling around and trying to pry Lieutenant Bites off him. "I can't see! Get him off!"

"Watch out, lad!" Audrey yelled, but she was too late. As Nikolai was getting ready to dump out the pool, Damien tripped over the edge of the pool and fell in, splashing cool, soapy water all over himself and Lieutenant Bites.

The children burst into peals of laughter at the sight of the normally impeccably dressed Damien lying in a sprawled-out position in a plastic kiddie pool, hair soaked and full of bits of dog fur, while an equally drenched Lieutenant Bites climbed out of the pool chattering angrily. The dog stood a few feet from the group, panting and wagging his tail.

"Don't just stand there, imbeciles!" Damien cried. "Get me out of this!"

"Say please," Ryan taunted, and some of the other children continued laughing.

"Enough!" Nikolai shouted. "Show is over, now it is time to help."

The other children immediately quieted down.

After being helped out of the pool by Nikolai, Damien wrapped himself in the towel Violet offered him. As if to apologize for his part in the prank, the dog approached the dark-haired French boy and sat down before him, head lowered and eyes pleading for mercy. An uncomfortable silence spread among the children as Damien glared at the dog for a few seconds.

"You are all imbeciles," Damien proclaimed in his usual arrogant manner. Then a gentle smile began to creep across his face. "However, because you are _**my**_ imbeciles, I am willing to forgive you, and especially _**you**_ -" His gaze rested upon the dog "-for this horrendous prank. But please, do not let it happen again."

The boy knelt to the ground and held out his hand before the dog. When the dog responded by placing his paw in Damien's hand as if in a handshake, the other children burst into a chorus of cheers.

"Yee-haw!"

" _Wunderbar!_ "

"Aces!"

"Very good! Now we dump out pool!"

The children stepped back and the dog jumped aside as Nikolai heaved the pool into an upright position, spilling its contents into the dry desert ground. A few of the kids squealed as the cool, soapy water came into contact with their bare toes.

Luke and Jeremy, having just returned from disposing of a deer carcass the Medic's doves were found playing in, noticed the kids gathered around the back door in their bathing suits and decided to see what they were up to. The dog, spotting the two men approaching, bounded up to them and eagerly jumped all over Jeremy, almost knocking the man over.

"Whoa! Easy, boy!" Jeremy gently shoved the dog off him.

"Rowdy little bloke, ain't he?" Luke remarked. "Remind you of anyone?"

Jeremy shook his head. "No; why?"

Luke crossed his arms and smiled mysteriously. "Just a thought, mate."

Jeremy looked puzzled for a few seconds; then it suddenly dawned on him what the older man was getting at. "Hey, wait a minute -!"

"Hi, Daddy."

Jeremy paused his outburst when Emma's greeting caught his attention. Not wanting to embarrass himself in front of his, as well as his teammates', kids, he immediately calmed down.

"Oh; hey, toots. What's up?"

Mia, having noticed Luke, greeted her father as well. "Hey, Dad."

"We washed Target like you and Mama asked," Emma answered, gesturing toward the clean but still damp dog.

Ryan looked at his sister as if she'd just spat on him. "Wait, you named him?"

"Yeah, 'cause that ring of spots on his shoulder looks a little like a target," Emma replied.

Ryan examined the dog to see the ring of spots for himself. "Yeah, it kinda does," he agreed, "but I still don't think it's a good idea to give him a name when we don't even know for sure if we'll get to keep him."

"So ve should just keep calling him 'dog', zhen?" Violet asked.

" _Touchè_ ," Ryan replied.

Emma looked hopefully at her father. "Did you find out if someone lost him and is looking for him?"

"I talked to the people at the pound," Jeremy answered. "They said no one around here is missing a dog, but one lady said that a dog escaped from the pound in Albuquerque, and she thinks it might have been Target."

"We aren't gonna take him back there, are we?"

Jeremy knelt to his daughter's level and pulled her close to him.

"We'll see, toots. The lady said she'd check if anyone's missing a dog over there, but all we can do now is wait and see."

Emma nodded. "Okay, Dad." She was about to return to the other children when she remembered something. "Did you tell Mr. Mundy about… you know..?"

"Yeah," Jeremy replied, "but he says he'll forgive you if you promise not to do it again, okay?"

"I promise," said Emma. "But he and Mr. Renault really should stop smoking 'cause it's bad for them."

Jeremy chuckled. "Maybe they will one day, Ems. But for now, let's stay out of their personal spaces, got it?"

"Got it!" Emma replied, grinning.

Jeremy smiled and stood up. "Good. Now let's catch up with the others."

As father and daughter proceeded to join Luke and the other kids, who were gathered around Target giving him head-pats and behind-the-ear scratches, the unmistakable voice of the Soldier thundered over the base's PA system, causing everyone to drop what they were doing and freeze.

"WHICH ONE OF YOU MAGGOTS GOT LIEUTENANT BITES WET?!"


End file.
